Rooted in connection: Libraries designing for belonging and community

Steph Harmon, WebJunction Program Design and Development Manager / 11 February 2025

Cover of Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, the Surgeon General's advisory

Despite living in an age of unprecedented digital connectivity, people are feeling the increasing effects of loneliness and isolation. These challenges extend beyond individuals, weakening the health, resilience, and trust of entire communities. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 report, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, reveals that loneliness can harm our health as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. While the impact is profound, there are clear and achievable solutions within our reach.

Eric Klinenberg, in Palaces for the People, describes libraries as essential social infrastructure—places where connections are made, trust is built, and belonging grows. Libraries have always played this role, but now there is growing evidence that intentional efforts to create programs, spaces, and partnerships can make a measurable difference in reducing disconnection and strengthening communities.

Why connection matters

Social isolation doesn’t just affect individuals—it weakens the foundation of healthy communities. The Surgeon General’s report outlines a framework with six key ways to improve social connection, including strengthening social infrastructure and creating a culture of connection. Libraries are already leading in many of these areas by fostering environments where relationships can grow.

Programs like Living Room Conversations and Civic Saturdays show how libraries can go beyond traditional programming to foster dialogue and understanding. In Living Room Conversations, small groups come together to discuss important topics and build connections across differences. Civic Saturdays, created by Citizen University, bring communities together to explore shared values and civic engagement. These programs demonstrate how libraries can intentionally create spaces that help people connect and belong.

Libraries as spaces for belonging

Libraries have always been more than just places to house books—they are spaces where community connection and belonging can thrive. In recent years, thought leaders and practitioners have explored how designing with intentionality can deepen engagement and create inclusive environments where everyone feels they belong.

Priya Parker, in The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, emphasizes that meaningful connections don’t happen by accident. They require thought and intention. A book club, crafting session, or event celebrating cultural heritage—such as a storytelling night, traditional art workshop, or community history exhibit—can become more than just programming when designed to create shared moments where people feel genuinely seen and valued.

Shamichael Hallman, a passionate champion for libraries civic connectors and author of Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy, emphasizes the need for libraries to move beyond serving patrons as users and instead partner with them as co-creators. This perspective shifts libraries from being service providers to becoming true collaborators in shaping what belonging looks like for their communities. Shamichael also helped create the Bridgebuilding Resource Hub with IREX, a project that provides tools for libraries to bridge divides, foster connection, and strengthen civic life.

Susie Wise, in Design for Belonging, explores how design-thinking principles can be applied to intentionally foster participation and inclusion. These ideas align with the work of the Othering & Belonging Institute, which emphasizes bridging divides and addressing systemic exclusion to create environments that nurture equity and connection. Libraries, as civic institutions, are uniquely positioned to adopt these principles by reimagining their spaces, programs, and services to reflect the diverse voices in their communities.

Whether they are hiring staff who bring cultural knowledge and lived experience, offering trauma-informed programming, or hosting ongoing events like Coffee & Conversations, libraries can create spaces where everyone feels valued and engaged. These practices illustrate how libraries can be, and are being, intentional in their design and programming, creating transformative spaces that foster trust, connection, and resilience. They show us what’s possible when libraries prioritize belonging as a core value—helping communities come together in ways that are both meaningful and lasting.

Strategies for strengthening connection

Libraries have long been spaces where people come together, find belonging, and build relationships. By approaching social connection with intentionality and creativity, libraries can deepen their impact. Building on resources like the Bridgebuilding Resource Hub and the Surgeon General’s framework for improving social connection, here are six key strategies libraries can use to foster connection in their communities.

Libraries as welcoming places for connection.
Library spaces and programs already help bring people together. Thoughtful design—such as cozy seating areas, conversation-friendly zones, and intergenerational programming—along with book clubs, community meetups, and drop-in events can make it even easier for patrons to connect.
Advocate for policies that strengthen libraries as community hubs.
Work with local government and partners to position libraries as essential spaces for connection. Advocate for policies that support library-led initiatives addressing loneliness, digital access, and community-building.
Recognize social connection as a community health issue.
Libraries play a role in addressing social isolation but can’t do it alone. Partnering with healthcare providers, social services, and community organizations can help libraries connect patrons with support networks. Working together, libraries and their partners can provide staff with the knowledge and resources needed to recognize isolation, make referrals, and offer programs that foster connection.
Promote healthier digital spaces and media literacy.
Teach digital literacy skills that help patrons navigate social media and online spaces in ways that support real-world connection. Host discussions on healthy tech use, online safety, and combating misinformation.
Use community input to shape library programs.
Libraries have a deep understanding of their communities, and community discovery tools can provide further insight into where people may feel disconnected. Using what you know—and whenever possible, learning more—about your community can help shape programs that bring people together. Sharing these insights with local leaders, funders, and policymakers can strengthen support for library initiatives.
Help shift social norms toward connection.
Beyond providing spaces and programs, libraries can actively encourage a culture of connection. Small actions—like staff modeling warm interactions, making space for informal conversations, and creating low-pressure ways for people to engage—help shift expectations toward greater social participation, inclusion, and belonging.

A connected future

When we talk about social isolation, we’re not just addressing the absence of relationships. We’re addressing the absence of spaces intentionally designed to foster those relationships. Libraries have long understood the importance of connection, and today they have more tools than ever to deepen their impact. Libraries can create programs and spaces that are rooted in evidence-backed practices, empowering communities to thrive together.

Teens gathered in new library space at Cornwall Public Library

The Surgeon General’s call to action challenges us to rethink how we combat loneliness. Libraries are uniquely prepared to answer—not as passive providers of space but as active architects of belonging. To realize their full potential, libraries must have a seat at the table as solutions to the epidemic of loneliness are being designed and implemented. Too often overlooked, libraries are vital partners in creating spaces that rebuild trust, resilience, and community.

As Eric Klinenberg reminds us, libraries are “palaces for the people.” They are more than places to borrow books; they are places to foster belonging and connection. In a world that longs for connection, libraries can be some of the strongest bridges that bring us back to one another.